Flashing



Aug. 31, 1948. J. D. STEBBINS FLASHING Filed April 19, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. gown/. Srf/Ms TTHYE'Y Aug. 3l,v 1948. J. D. sTEBBlNs 2,448,474 l v FLASHING Filed April 19. 1945 s sheets-sheet 2 Eingv ,4Z "l 6 WW l?" y( 11"""11 lIl' 'un l mum', III

@2% j JHA/SrEEBI//vs dnd-HJM TTR/VEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 J. D. STEBBINS FLASHING Aug. 3l, 1948.

Filed April 19, 1945 Patented Aug. 31, 1948 FLASHING .John D. Stebbins, New York, N. Y., assigner to Allied Chemical `di Dye Corporation, lNew .Y ork, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 19, 1945, Serial N0.'589,129

This invention relates 11o-building construction and more particularly to an improved flashing assembly for roofs andthe like.

'It lis an object of theinvention to provide an improved ceramic flashing member which may be readily built -into walls contiguous Ito roofs and which cooperates with the roof flashing to form an improved flashingassembly. Y

It is anotherfob'ject of the invention to provide a dashing-member of Simple construction Awhich is light in weight, Veconomical to manufacture, and may easily be laid in place of a portion or all of only a single course of bricks in a parapet wall and which, when installed,-cooperates with-other portions of 'the 'wall lto provide a recess forthe reception of roof ashing.

It isafurther object ofthe invention to provide a flashing `assembly of improved appearance and efficiency which veliminates the use of metal in the roof flashing. Other objectsand advantages will appear hereinafter.

This Vinvention provides a ceramic `flashing member which can be built'into a wall involving courses of bricks or other masonryunits toform a recess for the reception of flashing vand which has-substantially the same coefcient of expansion as the masonry units. The dashing member in its preferred embodiment involves a substantially rectangular vitried clay plate of a ythickness 'materially less than that of the masonry units, which plate is adapted to be embedded in mortar horizontally 1in the wall with the forward edge of the plate substantially ush'with the side of the wall contiguous to the roof, a Aportion or projectionrextending' downwardly 'from `the forward'edge a depth such that, whenvviewed from its forward edge, the member `appears to "be vof approximately the same thickness as a masonry unit of the wall; and another projection extending `downwardly from the plate in spaced relation to the rlrst projection. The projection extending downwardly from the forward edge of the plate cooperates with a portion o'f the wall below the plate vto provide Va recess for the vreception of flashing and the other projection cooperates with the mortar to vhold the member securely in position. The two end edges of the plate are provided respectively with 'a Yrecess and a complefmental portion, so thata plurality of the flashing members may be laid in a course in the place oiga portion orall of a single course of masonry units with the recess of one member receiving the complemental portion of anadjacentmember. The ilashingmem'ber may be employed in conjunction witha flashing fender extending from the roof 4 claims. (cries-#26) upwardly along the `parapet wall over "the flashing, the upper edge of the fender being locked in positionl 'behind the vdownwardly--extending projection along the forward edge of the flashing member.

Fora more complete understanding of the `ini-- Vention,`reference may be had'to 4the accompanying drawing showing, forvpurposes of exemplicatiem-preferred embodiment of the invent-ion, in

which Figure -1 `is a sectional view'through a parapet wall and aportion of a contiguous roof provided with one form of 'flashing assemblyofthe invention;

Figure Zfis a View in 'front edge elevation of the flashing member taken in thedirection of the arrow 2v in Figure l;

'Figure' 'is apartial sectional view taken along the line 33 of Figure l; i Y

Figure 4 is a view similar toFigure 1, illustratin'g a somewhat modied form of flashing assembly;

VFigure 5illustrates a'further modied form `of flashing assembly involving a flashing fender;

Fig. "6 is a plan View of the flashing fender showninfFig;

Fig;"7 isa viewin edge-elevation of the flashing fenderelement illustrated inFig. 6;

"Fig.'8 is a partial cross-sectional view taken on line CB-#Bbf Fig. '5, illustrating the joint between twov flashing fender elements; and

Fig. 9is.a horizontal sectional view illustrating afcorner flashingfelement in position in a parapet wall, the corner element being shown in top plan.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawing, reference numeral 5 designatesgenerallya vroof comprisinga roof deck 8 which Amay be-of concretawood lor othervsuitable construction y=covered`wth a plurality of superposed layers 1 of vtaror asphalt-impregnated felt cemented together with bituminous waterprooiing material such :as tar, pitch or asphalt, and an `overlying layer 8 of waterproofing material, such as Acoaltar pitch or asphalt, in which is embeddedgranular material, e. g. slag or gravel. Contiguous to one edge of the roof is a parapet wall Hicomprising courses of masonry units Il, which may bebrick, tile,'stone or the like, separated by mortar '|2. vLocated in the angle between the wall and roof'is a cant I3, over which one or more-plies of the felt roofing 1 extend.

"The Iashing assembly of the invention involves a 4ceramic 'flashing member 'indicated as a Whole by reference numerald 5. The'flashing member isv of baked clay construction, being preferably constituted of vitrified clay so that its surfaces are impervious to moisture, and may be made in a manner similar to vitried brick, employing molds or presses of appropriate shape. The member I involves substantially rectangular plate I6 of a thickness materially less than the thickness of masonry units Il, a-v projection r" portion |1 extending downwardly from the forward edge of of the plate a depth such that the thickness of the member when viewed edgewise in the direction of arrow 2 is approximately equal to the plate in spaced parallel relation to projection I1. The plate may be longer than vthe individual maf sonry units, e. g. it may be of a length equal approximately to that of two or more masonry units.

In the form shown in the drawing, the plate I6 is of a width such that the flashing member extends only part way through theA parapet wall; if desired, the width of the plate may be such that member |5 extends entirely through the wall in place of the entire widthwise extent of a course of masonry units One end edge of the plate is provided with a recess (see Figures 2 and 3) complemental to the opposite end edge portion 2| of the plate, so that -the flashing members may be laid in a course With the recess of each member receiving the complemental'end portion of an adjacent member. As shown in Figure 1, the major portion of the flashing member is embedded in mortar I2, i. e. the mortar substantially completely surrounds all of the member except its forward edge and a relatively small portion behind projection |1 which provides a recess 22 for the reception of flashing. Projection I8 interlocks with the mortar and aids in securing the flashing member securely in positionin the wall.

If desired, a plurality of projections I8 spaced at intervals between the front and rear edges of plate I6 may be provided to anchor the flashing member more securely in the wall. Instead of being continuous, projection I8 Vmay be discontinuous, e. g. constituted of one or more lugs of appropriate length to provide suitable anchorage. As shown in Figure 1, one or more sheets of flashing material 23, e. g. flexible roofing felt impregnated with waterproofing materialVsuch as asphalt, coal-tar or coal-tar pitch, extend from the roof over cant I3 and the roofing material overlying the cant upwardly along the parapet wall and into recess 22. The lower edge of the flashing sheet 23 is covered by and forms a waterproof bond with the layer 8 of waterproofing material and the upper edge of the flashing is cemented in recess 22 by plastic bituminous material 25, such as asphalt, coal-tar pitch, coal-digestion pitch, or cements containing such materials admixed with Ifibrous materials, such as asbestos. If desired, the rear side of projection I1 may be serrated, as illustrated in Figure 1, to aid in securing the plastic material in the recess. The forward edge portions of the row of bricks may be slantingly cut away, as illustrated at 26, to avoid an abrupt bend in the flashing material 23. l

Figure 4 illustrates a somewhat modified form of flashing assembly which diilers from that illustrated in Figure 1 chiefly in that the flashing member |5 is so positioned with respect to cant I3 that the flashing material 23 and, if desired, one or more layers of the roong felt 1 extend in a plane from the roof level within the recess 22 4 formed between the rear of projection I1 and the mortar I2 in which member I5 is embedded, thus avoiding any bend in the flashing material between the roof surface and the recess.

Figures 5 to 8, inclusive, illustrate a modified form of flashing assembly providing a concealed flashing for roofs comprising a surface of roofing units such as promenade Vtile units. Referring to Figure 5, roof deck 30 is covered by superposed material such as tar or asphalt alternating with layers of waterproof-lng material such as coal-tar pitch or asphalt. Above the felt roofing is a Apr-omenade tile roof surface 32 set in a layer 0f Portland cement mortar 34 overlying the felt. The parapet wall 35 involves courses of masonry units 36, 31 set in mortar 38 and a course of vitr'ified clay flashing members I5 embedded in the mortar. Reference numeral 39 designates a sheet of through flashing, constituted of felt saturated with bituminous material, built into the wall in a manner such that one side of the sheet overlies the rear portion of flashing member I5 and extends to the side of the wall opposite the roof to prevent seepage of moisture down through the wall. Such through flashing may also be incorporated in the forms of the inventionshown in Figures l and 4 but is preferably dispensed with if the member I5 is of a width sufficient to extend substantially1 entirely through the wall.

The parapet wall is constructed so that the portion of the wall below the member I5 is of somewhat reduced thickness as compared to the portion above the member. One or more plies of flashing materialen constituted of felt saturated with waterproofing material extend from the roof upwardly along the wall within the recess behind projection I1 of member I5. 'I'he flashing material 4U may be integral with material 3| or may be a separate sheet or sheets of waterproof felt extending asubstantial distance out over and forming a waterproof joint With material 3|, and may be cemented to the wall bya layer 4| of bituminous cement. A course of flashing fenders 42 illustrated in more detail in Figures 6, 1, and 8, are set in mortar in front of and conceal flashing material 40. It will be observed the fender has dove-tail grooves 43 on one face adapted to interlock with the mortar and a projection 44 along its upper edge, which extends into the recess behind the projection I1 of the flashing member I5, to maintain it securely in position. The flashing fender is preferably of a length approximately equal to that of a plurality, e. g. several, of the masonry units and the end edges -of the fender are provided with complemental projections and recesses 45 and 46 which interlock with eachother, as shown in Figure 8. The space between the flashing fender and the roof tile is filled by caulking material, such as a mixture of vcoaltar pitch or asphalt and fibrous material to provide expansion joint 48.-

The dimensions of my flashing member will depend chiefly on the nature of the parapet wall in which it is to be disposed and may, of course, be varied as desired. For a parapet Wall made up of standard brick 2 x 4 x 8, I prefer to have the rectangular plate about %lthick, about 9" wide, and 24" long, and to have each of the projecting portions extend a distance of about 1%," from the underside of the plate, so that, when viewed from the front edge, the flashing member appears to be about 2" thick. Thus, my flashing member results in a substantial saving of material as compared with brick or block flashings having flashing grooves, and is lighter in weight and therefore easier to handle than such block or brick flashings.

Fig. 9 illustrates a corner flashing element constructed in accordance with the invention. In this element plate I6 and projections I1, I8 each comprise two portions extending at an angle to each other and are shaped to i'lt a 90 convex corner. The corner element may overlap and underlap two adjacent flashing elements in the manner shown in Fig. 3. Obviously the corner element may be shaped to llt concave or convex corners of any angularity.

Thus it will be seen the invention provides a flashing member adapted to be embedded in mortar and extend partially or entirely through a parapet wall in place of a portion or all of a single course of bricks, which member involves a vitried clay plate having extending downwardly therefrom projections which form a flashing recess and lock the member in position in the wall. The flashing member is lighter in weight, more economical to make, and may be laid more easily to provide an improved flashing assembly than prior art ilashing elements.

Since certain changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In combination with a roof and a contiguous wall involving horizontal courses of masonry elements vertically separated by mortar, a ceramic ilashing member of substantially the same coefficient of expansion as said elements, consisting of a horizontal plate, extending at least partially through said wall between vertically spaced courses of said elements, and at least one leg integral with and projecting downward from said plate, the major portion of said flashing member being embedded in and surrounded by said mortar, said one leg being continuous along the edge of said plate in proximity to said roof and being laterally spaced from said mortar and masonry elements to form between the leg and said elements a recess for the reception of flashing, ilashing extending into said recess and cemented therein by means of bituminous plastic.

2. In combination with a roof and a contiguous wall involving courses of masonry units separated by mortar, a course of vitried clay flashing members of substantially the same coeflicient of expansion as said masonry units forming at least a portion of one of said courses, each of said members comprising a plate horizontally disposed n said wall between vertically separated courses of said masonry, one edge of said plate extending substantially to the side of said wall adjacent said roof, said plate being of a thickness materially less than the thickness of said masonry units, each member further comprising a portion extending downwardly from said edge of said plate along said side of said wall, and a projection extending downwardly from the lower surface of said plate in spaced relation to said downwardlyextending portion, the major portion of said member including said projection being ernbedded in and surrounded by said mortar, said downwardly-extending portion of said member cooperating with said wall to form a recess, flashing extending upwardly along said wall into said recess, and a flashing fender extending from said roof upwardly along said wall over said flashing, said flashing fender being provided along the upper edge thereof with a projection extending into said recess and locking the fender in position.

3. A ceramic flashing member adapted to be built into a wall as described in claim 1, comprising a plate having a ilat upper surface, a downwardly projecting leg perpendicular to said plate extending continuously along one edge thereof, the dimensions of said leg being such that, viewed in vertical cross-section, the leg is substantially longer than it is thick and is substantially shorter than the plate, and at least one additional projection extending downward from said plate and spaced from said leg a distance greater than its distance from the opposite edge of said plate, the plate being free of substantial projections on its under surface in the immediate vicinity of said leg.

4. A ilashlng member as defined in claim 3 shaped to provide a corner element.

J OI-IN D. STEBBINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,858,224 Fischer May 10, 1932 2,057,462 Weaver Oct. 13, 1936 2,226,369 Campileld Dec. 24, 1940 

